"Who will tell him?"
Sigil's voice broke the silence as he rose from his seat, stretching slightly, though the stiffness in his body had nothing to do with fatigue.
Vexer didn't answer immediately. His gaze lingered on the untouched tea before him, as if the answer had already been decided long ago.
"I will."
Sigil glanced at him.
"I'll tell him everything that needs to be said," Vexer added calmly. "Including my departure."
Sigil walked toward the window, resting a hand against the frame as he looked out into the distance. The world outside moved as it always had, calm, unaware.
"I hope you won't burden him with everything," he said quietly. "He's still a child."
"I know."
Vexer's reply came without hesitation.
"I know exactly what to say."
Later that day…
Pain was the first thing Three felt.
A dull, throbbing ache behind his eyes, spreading through his head like something was pressing against his skull from the inside.
"Ouch… ouch…"
His voice came out weak, strained.
The moment the sound left him, the door burst open.
"Three!"
Khate rushed in, her movements quick, unrestrained. Before he could even react, she pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Mom?"
Three blinked, confused, still half-dazed. Her grip tightened slightly, as if letting go wasn't an option.
"I missed you," she said, her voice softer now, controlled, but not completely.
Three frowned slightly. Something about it felt… off.
Before he could think further, Khate's expression shifted for just a brief moment. Her eyes unfocused, as if listening to something far away.
Then it passed.
She pulled back, smoothing his hair gently. "You gave me a scare."
"I did?" Three muttered, still trying to piece things together.
Before either could say more…
The air in the room shifted.
Three's body tensed instinctively as two figures appeared without warning.
"Grandpa? Dad?"
Vexer stepped forward, his expression steady.
"We need to talk."
No smile. No teasing.
Something in his tone made Three sit up straighter.
"Now?"
Vexer didn't answer.
Instead, he reached out and placed a hand on Three's shoulder.
The world blurred.
The mountain stood as it had before, silent, unmoving.
The cave entrance loomed in the distance, but they didn't go inside. Instead, Vexer brought them to a quiet spot just below the slope, where the wind passed gently and nothing else stirred.
Three looked around, confusion quickly turning into unease.
"Why are we here?"
No answer.
His gaze shifted to Vexer.
"…What did I awaken?"
Silence.
Not the kind that came from thinking.
The kind that avoided.
Three's chest tightened slightly.
"Did I get something weak?" he pressed, forcing a small laugh. "Like… I don't know, mud control? Leaf bending?"
Nothing.
The silence stretched.
It pressed.
"Grandpa."
His voice sharpened.
"What did I awaken?"
Vexer exhaled quietly.
With a small motion of his hand, a wooden seat formed behind him. He sat down slowly, his gaze still fixed on Three.
"Sit."
Three didn't move.
"I'm not sitting." His voice came out firm, tighter than before. "Not until you answer me."
Another pause.
A longer one this time.
Then…
"You didn't awaken."
The words were simple.
Like a final judgment given to a death row inmate.
Three blinked.
For a moment… he didn't understand.
Then he laughed.
A short, uncertain sound.
"…That's not funny."
No reaction.
"You're joking, right?" he continued, the words coming quicker now. "This is one of your tricks. You always do this, you say something serious, then, then you laugh after."
Vexer didn't laugh.
Three's smile faltered.
"You're just testing me," he said, more quietly now. "I probably awakened something big, right? Something like yours… space manipulation, or…"
He stopped.
Because Vexer's face hadn't changed.
Not even slightly.
The silence answered for him.
Three's throat tightened.
"…No."
The word came out barely above a whisper.
"That's not possible."
His head shook slowly, like rejecting the thought itself.
"It doesn't make sense… everyone awakens. You said it yourself. I should…"
His voice broke.
"I should have something."
The ground beneath him felt unsteady.
"Why?"
He looked at Vexer now, not with curiosity, but with something raw.
"Why didn't I awaken?"
No answer came.
And that was worse than anything else.
Three took a step forward. Then another.
"You can fix it, right?" His voice rose, desperate now. "You're the strongest. You said it yourself. There's nothing you can't do, so just fix it!"
Still nothing.
"Fix it!"
His hands clenched into fists.
Then he moved.
The first hit landed weakly against Vexer's chest.
Then another.
And another.
"It's not fair!"
Each word came with another strike.
"I did everything right! I waited, I trained, I listened, so why do I get this?!"
His voice cracked completely.
"Why me?!"
The blows didn't stop, but they grew weaker with each one, his strength draining faster than his anger.
Vexer didn't block them.
Didn't step back.
He simply stood there… and took them.
Until…
He reached forward.
And pulled Three into an embrace.
The movement was firm, steady. Unshakable.
Three struggled at first.
Then the strength left him.
His hands clenched against Vexer's robes, his breathing uneven, breaking apart with every attempt to hold it together.
"It's not fair…" he repeated, quieter now.
Vexer's hand rested gently against the back of his head.
"No," he said softly.
"It isn't."
There was no explanation.
No comfort disguised as false hope.
Just truth.
"Life has never been fair."
Three didn't respond.
He just stood there, held in place, as everything he had believed in quietly collapsed around him.
The wind passed through the mountain once more.